International Customs...

[karen]

It's come to my attention that our super spiffy shipping software may not have put the correct prices on some of our international packages. We actually use 3 pieces of software to generate the packing lists and labels- so I'm guessing they're not talking to each other correctly. We do not intentionally lie on customs tags, we don't mark things as a gift, or as a commercial sample, or the "wholesale value" of an order. I know that no one likes to pay extra taxes on their packages, but undervaluing packages is not legal, and it's just not something we do- at least intentionally. It's just too big of a risk- for you, and for us. The software imports the total cost of the order minus any discounts, coupons, or the shipping price- so what's on the label is theoretically reflective of the actual price you paid for the item.

I'm in the process of looking into the issue...in the mean time, we'll be really looking at the international labels to make sure the correct dollar amounts are on there. Please be aware of the custom's limit for your country, and try to place an order under that amount if you would like to avoid customs charges (I've never met anyone who enjoys paying more taxes). It's often cheaper shipping-wise to place a few smaller (under 8-ounces) orders than it is to place one big order. If you're placing a few orders you can still qualify for the free shadows for every $30 you spend. Just request the shadow on one of your orders and mention that you've placed more than one order. We'll happily do it for orders placed within a 24-hour period.

Off the top of my head I know the limits for the following countries:
Canada- $20
Singapore- $300 or so...it's a lot
UK- 18 pounds

If you know the limit for your country...please list it!

[birgih05]

Norway: 200 kroner
About 33 $ us dollars depending on exchange rate

[clivia]

Sweden: No official limit but everything over 200 SEK=$27 (today) seem to get caught.

I'm totally OK with paying the extra tax, but the Swedish post office charges a handling fee too which is around $10. It's no fortune, but if you do a lot of your shopping online it adds up.

[pinkpomelo]

In Singapore, its SGD 400. Anything above SGD 400 and we have to pay a Goods and Services Tax (GST = 7%). I order stuff in for my company and we try to make the smaller ones into parcels of SGD400 or less. But if we can't, then no choice, just pay GST.

[Toby]

Canadians are also charged a $5 handling fee on top of taxes. Still better than UPS & its exorbitant $30-ish handling fee, though!

[Wigs]

For Australia:
According to customs.gov.au: All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 AUD or less. Which at the moment is roughly
885.650 USD.

[karen]

Just kind of thinking out loud here...Canadians- how is your postal system within Canada? We actually live sorta close to the border, and go to usually the Ottawa area a few times a year. I have a supplier in Toronto that actually drives packages to Niagara Falls, and does the whole customs thing there, and then ships them UPS from Buffalo. It works pretty well. I've kind of daydreamed about doing the reverse...drive them to say Ottawa, deal with customs at the boarder, and then pop them into Canada Post. It's not something we can do all the time (especially not in the winter because we have to drive through some pretty famously snowy towns), but it seems like it's worth asking the question.

Let's say you live in BC- how long does it take you to get a package from Toronto?

[Vroni]

Germany 22 Euro, which would be 31$ today.

[WendyD]

According to Canada Post, a letter sent from one province to another should take 4 days, and a parcel (most small/medium orders will fall under parcel I think. 500g-30kg) takes as little as 2 days, but up to 9 days. With parcels, you also get tracking.

[BlowFarAway]

I live about an hour east of Vancouver, and it takes me 3-4 days to get post from Montreal (I have a brother out there who sends letters about once a month). There's usually about a 3 day hold at the border acording to my calculations, which is a long time imo. Our post system is the worst in the frst world it seems lol, people in Australia and Singpore usually get their packages before me, but yours have been pretty good, usually about 2 weeks instead of 3 or 4.